Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot editor
Nov 10, 2017
The so-called American Dream is something to which most people have aspired at some point in their life. While it means something different to everyone, its pursuit is something our Founding Fathers felt was worth protecting.
The Declaration of Independence states early in its text, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
Conservatives consider this particularly important because we believe our rights truly come from God, not man. Yet, the ever fallible man often seems to overvalue these rights for ourselves while undervaluing them for others. I’m dismayed at the lack of engagement by individuals in societal issues until they’re impacted directly. This sort of short-sightedness has allowed the progressive movement far too much success in America.
In fact, I submit the American Dream, which for many of us includes the freedom to worship, honor our flag and pray to our God, all openly, has been desperately attacked by those whose progressive dream lacks these virtues. And if eight years of the Obama administration taught us nothing else, we learned how quickly even the mightiest of nations will falter beneath the weight of liberal leaders with socialist tendencies.
For some retrospection, I recently read a 2014 column by Simone Pathe, of “PBS NewsHour,” titled “Why half of U.S. adults no longer believe in the American dream.” The column shared data collected at the time by the annual American Values Survey showing nearly half of Americans, who once believed in the American Dream (defined as the belief that if you work hard, you’ll get ahead), thought it no longer existed.
Fast-forward to a column last week by Samantha Smith of the Pew Research Center titled “Most think the ‘American dream’ is within reach for them,” which revealed an entirely different, optimistic perspective. This column stated that despite persistently “low levels of public satisfaction” with the state of the nation, most Americans (82 percent) believe they’ve achieved the American Dream or are on their way to achieving it.
The state of the union and the mindset toward achieving the American Dream is dramatically improving per every economic indicator under the Trump administration. Unemployment is falling, manufacturing is returning to the U.S., the stock market is at an all-time high, GDP is on the incline, the EPA is being reined in, our enemies once again fear us while our allies are learning to trust us again, and our military is regaining global prominence.
Despite these facts, liberals seem to be working frantically to keep our focus elsewhere. Don’t forget, the same people who are trying to convince you President Trump’s approval ratings are tanking are the same ones who told you Hillary would win in a landslide!
Liberals may choose to reverie in their progressive nightmare, but most Americans are enlivened by the new spirit we’ve embraced as a nation.
The American Dream is once again reality.
Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.
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